Hauntings of the Heart is on sale for a limited time. Minnie’s story takes center stage in this novel. Find out about her adventures in the Peace Corps, how she acquired the Lilac Bower, and what she does when an old love shows up on her welcome mat.

Another snippet from the story about Penny from In for a Pound. Elaine, an acquaintance from church, has come for a visit, but does she have an ulterior motive?

The doorbell jangled and Penny sighed. Her quiet hours were over. The door must have been locked because both Ken and Buck would have let themselves in. She hauled her crutches from the side of the couch and levered herself to her feet. She would have requested one of those scooter things, but her insurance wouldn’t cover it.
The distance to the front door seemed intermidible. Hopefully, her next trip to the doctor would give her a walking cast.
She opened the door expecting to see Ken or Buck grumbling at her for taking so long to answer the door.
Instead, Elaine waited on the welcome mat. “Oh!” she exclaimed upon seeing Penny. “I do have the right address. I didn’t see any other cars around. You’re looking well.”
Elaine and Penny often chatted after church, but their acquaintance rarely went beyond the temperament of the weather.
“Thank you.” Penny moved to the side to allow Elaine to enter. She carried a casserole dish covered in aluminum foil.
“Do you want this in the oven or the fridge?” Elaine said, gesturing with the dish. “It’s mushroom chicken with noodles.”
“Sounds delicious. Oven. We can have it for supper.”
“I hope you like it. It’s one of my favorite recipes.” Elaine beelined for the kitchen. Penny followed at her own hobbly pace. Elaine punched buttons on the oven for heating, then slid the dish on the center rack. She shucked her hat and mittens and tossed them on the kitchen table. She plopped down without an invitation. “Such an awful time of year to be laid up. How long will you be in a cast?”
Penny sat too. Five minutes was about as long as she could stand with the crutches. “A couple weeks, but hopefully I can switch to a walking cast soon.”
Elaine nodded sympathetically. “Would you like some tea?”
Penny nodded, explaining where the tea bags and cups were.
“It’s kinda quiet here. I thought you would be inundated with company.” She looked around the kitchen and cast a furtive glance to the living room as she placed the steaming cups on the table.
“It’s been pretty steady. This is probably the first time I’ve been alone for more than a few minutes.”
“Oh, I feel bad for bothering you then. It’s probably nice to have some peace and quiet.” Elaine tipped her head to peek at the front door… as if she was expecting someone or hoping someone would show up.
“The company has been nice, but I’m really enjoying having Buck and Ken out of the house for a while. Brotherly love can only be endured in small doses.”
Elaine leaned forward, toying with her tea cup. “Brothers can be so irritating sometimes. Believe me, I have four older ones.”
“My sympathies. One younger one and his best friend are enough.”
“So you think of Ken like a brother then?” A touch of hopefulness lit Elaine’s voice.

I’m about thirty miles behind where I should be. It makes me nervous. I like to be ahead of the game. I’m updating my mileage on the right side of this page. As I get closer to the 25k in May and when I start marathon training for the fall, my mileage will ramp up and I won’t be as worried about it.

This year, I’ve chosen to run the Fifth Third River Bank run to raise money for a local charity, True North Community Services. They do so much for West Michigan: from helping people purchase and maintain their homes to supporting at-risk child to providing food and necessities to those in need. If you would like to be a part of the solution, please donate here: https://runsignup.com/ejiran

My other running dilemma is choosing a fall marathon. The options are the Oktoberfest marathon (close to home, fun course), Sleeping Bear Marathon (defending my title, free), or something completely new. There is also a race that is flat and fast to help qualify for Boston. I have a Boston qualifying time, but haven’t decided whether to run there next year. Any Midwest marathon suggestions I should check out?

We’re back with Penny and Ken. Word has gotten out that Penny hurt her leg and one of her beaus has come for a visit.

Boy, Harold and Penny were laying it on thick. The sweetness and charm were enough to give a chocolatier sugar shock. Ken was glad to keep his distance, so the lovey-dovey goo didn’t splatter on him.

They kept talking in a similar fashion and Ken debated escaping to another room. If this was what women desired, he’d spend his last thirty years a bachelor. While he had no problem being affectionate and gentlemanly, this goo-goo eyes, snookems stuff was about to make him lose his muffins.

And yet, instead of heading out for a walk, Ken picked up the dessert plates from last night and put them in the sink. Washing dishes was a reasonable excuse to eavesdrop on the competition.

“YE-ouch!” Ken yelped. The water from the faucet came out scalding hot. He jerked his hand away from the stream, waving it around.

Buck spun backward and flipped his chair on its side. Penny attempted to jump from her seat. Her cast hampered her leap and she tipped sideways, only to stumble across Buck. Ken caught her before she bounced on the linoleum. He wrapped the arm with the unburned hand around her waist in a semi-dip position. His eyes locked on hers. Her breath hitched and Ken cursed through clenched teeth.

Penny and Ken are back. There’s been a little wine and now they are discussing marriage — not to each other! (at least, not yet. :-)) These two seem to get into it every time they are around each other.

“Like I said I wanted a marriage to last forever. I’m not going to take the chance with someone who isn’t right for me.” Ken refilled Penny’s wine glass, then emptied the rest of the bottle into his own.

“How did you know? If you were looking for someone who could put up with your condescending ways, I can understand how the search would have been difficult.” Penny raised her glass. The wine had dulled the pain in her broken leg, but it was also adding fog to her brain.

“I’m not done searching.” Ken slid a glance toward her from the overstuffed chair.

Penny’s sip of wine went straight up her nose. What was he insinuating? Just because she planned to get married didn’t mean she expected everyone at her age to be searching for a mate. Was he finagling for her list? “Well, Elaine was interested tonight.”

“Sure, she was, but I’m not changing my standards.”

Maybe Penny’s tongue wasn’t the only one being loosened by the wine. “I’m sure Elaine would love to hear that. She’s a sweet woman.”

“I need someone with more edge, who’s not afraid to speak her mind.”

Another mouthful of wine up her nose. Ken was going to think she had motor-function problems. “Why?”

“Because yes men get old quick. I couldn’t take thirty years of the fawning and doting.”

Penny dismissed the relief that washed over her. She shouldn’t be thinking of Elaine as a rival. Harold was on her list, not Ken. And she wasn’t planning to be on Ken’s. “You expect to live into your nineties?”

“Why not? I’m in good shape, healthy, fit. I want to enjoy my retirement and not be tiptoeing around my house worried that I’ll offend my wife.”

“Sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“What can I say? You’ve inspired me.” Ken raised his glass as if to salute her.

Penny was ready to give up on her second glass of wine. Every time she took a gulp, Ken said something that forced the liquid into her nasal cavity. “Don’t expect a double wedding.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Why isn’t your theoretical wedding not going to be the most special day of your life?”

“It’s not theoretical.”

“It is until you find a groom.”

“Who says I haven’t found one?”

“I don’t see a ring on your finger.”

“Doesn’t mean I haven’t found a fellow.” But her ring finger felt suspiciously cold and bare.

“You’re not answering my question.”

“Why is it your business?” Everyone called her a busybody, but Ken’s interest in her potential marriage would make the most voracious gossip proud. She almost had to admire this tenacity.

“I suppose it’s not. But it looks like we’re going to be in each other’s company for a few weeks. We might as well get to know each other.”

“Weeks? Buck said that I couldn’t be alone for a couple days.”

“I meant while I was in town.”

“I thought you were trying to move here.”

“Stop trying to change the subject. What do you have against true love?”

This scene comes from my other work in progress with characters from In for a Pound. I call it Penny because it centers around Joshua’s aunt, Penny. In this scene she had just returned from the hospital after breaking her ankle during a fall on the ice. Buck is her brother, and Ken is his friend, whom Penny has taken a dislike to.

A couple minutes later, Penny was settled on the couch with her broken foot propped on a pillow. Ken made a fuss over wrapping a blanket around her, while Buck—typical for her brother—rummaged through the refrigerator.

“What do you want to eat?” Buck called.

“I’ll get something later. Don’t worry about it,” Penny said. The excitement of the evening was wearing on her. She was ready to be home alone and vegetate in front of the television. The difficulty of reaching the refrigerator with the bulky cast on her foot would have to be contemplated later, preferably without an audience.

Ken propped the crutches next to the arm of the couch. “I can stay here tonight, if you want to take the day shift,” he said as Buck returned to the kitchen with a plate of apple pie.

“Sounds good.” Buck handed to the pie to Ken and returned to the kitchen for a second plate and a glass of milk.

Penny reached for the remote. “What?”

“Ken’s going to stay here tonight and I’ll be here in the morning.”

Penny summoned her last bit of energy. “I don’t need you here.” She narrowed her eyes at Ken. “And I especially don’t need him here.”

“The doctor says you shouldn’t be alone for at least two days.”

“Pssht. I’ll be fine. I’ll probably sleep the whole time.”

“Then you won’t even notice he’s here.”

“He doesn’t need to stay. Put my cell phone on the table and I’ll be just fine. Your house is only a couple minutes away.’

“Those minutes will feel like hours if you fall and can’t get up.”

“I’ll survive.” Penny pushed one more time. She didn’t plan to get off the couch unless she had to go to the bathroom and she had an iron bladder.

“Penny, give it a rest. You aren’t winning this one.”

“But—”

“Did I stutter?” Buck gave her the look that reminded her of their dad. The one she didn’t argue with if she wanted to leave her room in the next year.

She pressed her lips into a tight line. “Okay, but why don’t you stay tonight and Ken or someone else can come in the morning?”

“I can’t sleep without my CPAP machine, so it’d be a lot of fuss and it’s already late.”

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This is my first week participating and I am so excited to be working with a great bunch of ladies. The theme word for this week is ‘ruthless.’ This scene comes from my current work in progress which is as yet untitled, although the file name is ‘bigfoot.’ Generally, it is supposed to be a romantic comedy, although this scene might suggest otherwise.

Harris attempted to wrench Jaiden into the truck, but Marshall jumped into the road with a howl that would have made a sasquatch proud. The distraction was enough to startle Harris. He released Jaiden’s arm and she landed the punch she had been winding up for. The unexpected force slammed him against the wheel well of his truck. He slid down the red paint and landed with a thud on the ground, sputtering dust.

Jaiden raised her foot to kick dirt in his face, but Marshall pulled her back. She took a moment to let the adrenaline rush subside. Her heart thudded in her ears.

“I can’t believe I trusted you,” she snapped.

Harris raised his hand to touch his bruising jaw, then spit a red blob in the dirt. “You chipped my tooth.”

“I’ll chip something else.” Jaiden reared back ready to acquaint his jaw with the toe of her hiking boot.

Marshall eased his body between them, acting as a barrier and calming influence for Jaiden’s temper. “Whoa there, tiger.”

She closed her eyes, willing sensible thoughts to overcome the need to lash out physically. She didn’t need an assault charge from Harris no matter how much he deserved it.

Her ire, however, still needed to vent. “He let me believe we were on the same side, that we were fighting for the same goals. Preserving the environment for future generations, engineering sustainable and renewable energy sources, creating zero impact developments. Instead he’s destroying the fragile ecosystem of a rare butterfly and he’s not even honest about how he’s doing it.”

Harris wiped a slip of bloody drool from his lip. “What would jumping through all your hoops have gotten me? Delays so long your hippie friends would have lost the property to the tax man. What would have happened to the oil then?”